The present invention refers to an electric pump for the re-circulation and filtering of swimming pool water, of the type including a suction chamber and a pressure chamber, both of which are connected to one another by a communication conduit, the first being provided with a water suction inlet, wherein the swimming pool water to be filtered and impelled enters, and a filter vessel, into which the water drawn in enters by an upper open inlet and exits by multiple small orifices made in its wall and/or lower base, whereas the pressure chamber comprises an impelling assembly, driven by an electric motor, and a water outlet for the filtered and impelled water.
State of the Art
Well-known in the art are multiple embodiments of pumps for the re-circulation of water, such as those described in ES-U 284474, ES-U 291043 and ES-U 9801562 Spanish utility models, in EP 544610 and EP 657602 European patents and in GB 379738 and 500072 British patents. In all of the above, whenever the filter vessel fills up with leaves, papers, plastic or other residues they unfailingly get lodged opposite the orifice of the communication conduit between the suction and pressure chamber and stop up the filter passage in the latter zone adjacent to the perimeter of said orifice, so that the water has to pass laterally by the rest of the filter perimeter, and, of necessity, pass through a narrow crown adjoining the perimeter of the mentioned orifice. This pressure-driven water flow through such a narrow crown produces a loud noise owing to the turbulence originating from the water flow thus increasing the pressure drops and altering the smooth operating of the electric pump.
Likewise, all the known embodiments of this type of pump have the impeller and the electric pump arranged co-axially and with the shaft in horizontal position. Arranged thus, the suction chamber is never completely full of water, as the air drawn in by the sucked-in water tends to form bubbles in the upper zone of said chamber, where the impeller is to be found, which also produces an increase in the operating noise of the electric pump.
These two drawbacks constitute a serious problem in the operating of the electric pumps of this type, especially that produced by the stopping-up of the filter vessel, which is even more blatant in very powerful electric pumps, in which the filter vessel walls become deformed by the pressure and rest on the mouth of the communication orifice between both chambers, resulting in the practical closing off of the water flow.
Another additional drawback is that, for construction purposes, the communication conduit is generally narrow and ends in a narrow cavity in the suction chamber, opposite the impellers, which likewise produces a noise increase in the electric pump.
Explanation of the Invention
The electric pump object of the invention eliminates all the mentioned disadvantages and operates in a very noiseless and efficient way.
Essentially, the electric pump of the invention is characterised in that the said communication conduit between the pressure and suction chamber is arranged on a lower level to that of the lower base of the filter vessel, whereby the mouth of said conduit in the pressure chamber is situated below the mentioned lower base of the filter vessel.
According to another feature of the invention, an ample hollow space is arranged below the lower base of the filter vessel and the impeller assembly and can contain a relatively high volume of water which, once the electric pump has started up for the first time, is permanently housed in said ample hollow space.
According to another feature of the invention, the walls of the pressure chamber body and the filter vessel walls diverge appreciably from one another, determining a wide annular space between both walls for the circulation of the water.